He expected social rejection so I took Machiavelli’s advice and kept my enemy close, right down to an NBA Texas weekend and excruciating Priory Bay golf outing. Extricating Imperial and surveillance were crucial, yet planting inside Kinetic would have been foolhardy and perhaps dangerous. “I’ve a closer association with Marsha Johnson than I’ve led you to believe. Over dinner one night she complained about the pressure to address the company’s financial shifts. Platinum forced her hand and she’d had to let you go. With reluctance. She said you’re quick on your feet and as savvy as she thinks she is. I remembered you from the Charade launch and brought myself up to date.”
“You didn’t contact me until Ciao!Beauty collapsed.”
“Indeed, but you’ll recall the night at the St. Regis? The Perfume Society of America’s, Winners Table Hall of Fame event.”
“What about it?”
“I arranged to have Nikos Christopoulos seated at your table, and was delighted to spot the two of you in the King Cole Bar afterward. I couldn’t hear a word but, as hoped, it was clear you were making a pitch to him. From there a trusted member of my executive team convinced Nikolas Christopoulos the young, savvy consultant who’d masterminded his Nordstrom presentation should be brought on board permanently and quickly before Chanel or Prada spirited her away.”
“Julian!”
“A nudge, Emma, that’s all, and one of the best business decisions of my career. Keeping tabs on you has proven a complete pleasure. During Cannes’ luxury trade show, I was delighted to see you work your magic with the Christopoulos directors, each as taken with you as I was. …all their encouragement to visit Milan… Your skills impress me to this day and back then they proved invaluable. I was able to bring the ugly Carmine Isgro chapter to a close as rapidly as possible.”
“You?”
“I was rarely in the states, or active in Mayfair management so he targeted Wilma Nash with sudden and transparent interest in Mayfair. His behaviour forced me to install boardroom surveillance. Nikos’s mistake was naïveté. Bringing his nephew into Ciao!Beauty with exceptional responsibility doomed them. Carmine envisioned Imperial as some sort of bottomless resource. His hints of blackmail forced my hand. To raise your alarm I needed the obvious so I arranged documents at the copy machine, and bogus backpack deliveries among the real ones.”
“My God, Julian! You set me up to give the FBI a witness who had no relationship with Imperial.”
He shrugged a yes. “I freed you from a potentially catastrophic situation.”
“Which you’d placed me in.” No doubt the surveillance shot of me at Carmine’s desk preceded others as I pulled off the radiator cover. Reality knocked the breath out of me.
“You’re an amazing asset on every level.”
“I’m horrified.”
He waved it off. “There’s nothing about your career I don’t know. Folding Mayfair and Windmill into Imperial, and Imperial into Robo-Technik opens your perfect next opportunity.”
“And you expect to relocate my New York team to Zurich by January. Another agenda item you’ve neglected to mention to anyone in my office.”
“Certainly not. You’ve convinced me it’s imperative to maintain a physical presence in North America. No, they’ll remain as indispensable as always right here. It’s you who’s proven qualified to oversee our consolidated fragrance venture from corporate headquarters. We were to discuss this opportunity in St. Moritz. I’ve a file all prepared. Covers everything from our corporate objectives to travel requirements. It lays out complete relocation information regarding your Bahnhofstrasse office and a lakeside residence in Enge—”
“You’re moving me to Zurich.”
“I promise details tomorrow night with less uproar.”
The lilt had left his voice; outrage entered mine. “The uproar has nothing to do with this concert. You must also have an Ethan file. You’ve mastermind his new job, new location, a separate life. My god, you’ve thought of everything.”
He shrugged. “Emma, you combine instinct with an acute understanding of the fragrance industry, a composite of everything desirable in business. You must know from Day One you’ve been critical to my developing this niche.” I waited.
“I confess your interview on Priory Bay was a bit of a test.”
“For me, as well.”
“Professionally you offered extraordinary insight. Socially you moved among royalty with grace. On a personal level, suffice to say, the evening you spent with me in Oksana’s pearls altered our lives. You’ve proven to understand me as few others have.”
I let that sink in. “I take enormous pride in my work. I’m grateful you recognise my effort, but I’m not a chess piece you can slide all over the Petrenko empire game board.”
“Bollocks. We’ve chewed on enough for this evening.”
“One more question. When you offered me Priory Bay for the getaway and sent me for your watch, why not arrange for me to pick it up from security at the desk?”
“No harm done from a nudge into my dressing room. Let’s lay our cards on the table, shall we?” He turned from the commotion of arriving fans and smiled at me. “Chemistry between us is obvious. I weighed the intimacy factor. Frankly I’d have offered my suite had it not been full of tradesmen.”
“There’s been times when chemistry’s been powerful. We made a strong team because of it.”
“With your marriage little more than a signature on a legal document. Ethan can never give you the life you deserve.”
“Ethan’s none of your business. Tracking us is an outrage.”
“For your protection.”
“My protection in case your manoeuvres go haywire. You’ve manipulated our relationship like it’s some failing perfume contract.” Arguing was pointless. I’d never win; I’d morph into my ranting Missouri self I’d worked so hard to abandon. “Julian, you’re a smart man who gets what he wants. I’m flattered you needed me to make it happen. In terms you can understand, I’ve proven myself a good investment. However, you’ve moved from mergers and acquisitions to a hostile takeover. I don’t need you or Ethan for my success. I took responsibility for my future a long time ago.”
I swear the fog lifted. As if I’d summoned a spokesperson into my head, I offered my hand. “These fifteen minutes have convinced me it’s time to step aside.”
“Don’t be daft. I promised St. Moritz. Go. Take whatever time you need. Take Ethan, if need be.”
“Julian, we’re done. You’re a man with a lot to keep secret. I can’t in good conscience be part of it, and I can’t address your board knowing what I do.”
“This is insanity.”
“You know it’s not. Jennifer and Bill are already in charge of the concert follow-up tonight You’re as prepared as I am for tomorrow’s board meeting. I give you my word everything you need will be in your suite tonight.” I didn’t dare blink.
“Christ, Emma. You cannot bloody well walk out on our contract – or me – without consequences.”
“You’ve forced this decision. You stand to make over twenty million dollars on the Mesmerise licensing deal and Imperial’s racking up massive profit with development derived from it. I brought you the UK Connection contract; I put the entire project together, right down to where we’re standing. I assembled the executives who transformed your company. I walk but my team will keep Mayfair running without a hiccup. If you’d rather dismantle it, they’ll serve as interim support.”
